Virginia Woolf’s 1927 novel, To the Lighthouse is heavily concerned with the uniqueness of the individual’s human nature. Using the revolutionary modernist style of writing, the stream of consciousness; Woolf emphasises the complexity of perception and the importance for the even coexistence of masculinity and femininity in individual psyches and within relationships.
Despite their differences, all of the characters are tied together based on their common desire, to find meaning in their lives through finding and making sense of their place in the world. However, each character due to their varying attitudes and beliefs, each strive towards fulfilment introspectively, identifying with either male objectivity or female subjectivity. Due to the conflict between the approaches and uneven distribution of gendered power, the household becomes dysfunctional and frozen in time, disabling the characters to continue on their journey of life. Their experience becomes fluid, and their preverbal paths are far from being a linear.
The main female characters in To the Lighthouse try to preserve time in order to find meaning in their lives. Mrs. Ramsay is described as being “still like a tree”. The simile emphasises her desire to stop the changes that come with time by becoming rooted to the ground like a plant, reluctant to move forward. This is also evident in the length of the first section: ‘The Window’ which is largely dominated by her psychological presence. This part stretches out one day so it lasts for close to half of the novel just as Mrs. Ramsay attempts to prolong the continuation of time. Using Victorian social convention, Mrs. Ramsay like an artist attempts to create a fixed moment of order and peace in order to gain fulfillment. Her dinner party is used in order to be “…like a ruby…the thing…made that endures.” The simile comparing the guests to an unchanging ruby highlights how Mrs. Ramsay tries to render her company into a beautiful inanimate object, unable to change or lose its splendor. Lily attempts to do a similar thing with her painting. Despite Lily’s assumption of the painting being overlooked; “…hung in the attics, she thought; it would be destroyed…” the painting is a way in which to control time, through manifesting past moments into an unchanging physical representation.
Mrs. Ramsay’s tendency to indulge her children’s fantasies with lies leads them to resent their father, and the family being heavily dominated by matriarchal power. This gender imbalance causes the household to become dysfunctional. As one would fear a beast, she fears her children becoming adults and metaphorically“…grow(ing) up into long-legged monsters”. In order to assert power over the family, she attempts to shield the children from the inevitable truths, especially the certainty of death. Mrs. Ramsay wraps her green shawl around the pig’s skull and tells Cam “rhythmically…how it was like a mountain, a bird’s nest, a garden… (with)…little antelopes…everything lovely.” The fact that the shawl is green makes it a symbol of life. The cataloguing of similes comparing the skull to “everything lovely” highlights Mrs. Ramsay’s attempt to censor her children from the reality of death, represented by the skull. Her protectiveness of childhood innocence is indicative of Victorian female sensibility. In contrast, Mr. Ramsay always is truthful, at times making him appear cold-hearted and cruel. Mrs. Ramsay often lied to her children about going to the lighthouse: “‘Yes, of course, if it’s fine to-morrow.’” Her remark is seemingly a straightforward “yes” however is contradictory. She begins with a simple affirmative “yes”, that is then compounded with “of course” to highlight certainty, but then becomes conditional with reliance on the weather. Mr. Ramsay, being “incapable of untruth…” confirms “it won’t be fine”. His directness highlights his honesty, an essential quality to maintain familial peace.
Mrs. Ramsay’s tendency to conserve time through attempting to eternalise the youth of her children through lies abruptly ends with her death. The second section, ‘time passes’ condenses 10 years into around 20 pages, as if to compensate for Mrs. Ramsay’s abnormal prolonging of the single day in ‘the window’. Without her presence, the characters are all able to move forward in their lives and find a sense of meaning through seeing masculine and feminine qualities both need to be present in relationships in order to maintain balance. When Cam, James and Mr. Ramsay arrive at the lighthouse, he wonders: “So this is the Lighthouse, was it?” The rhetorical question highlights his surprise when the Lighthouse is an ordinary structure and nothing like the quasi-magical building he dreamed about as a child. However, he comes to a conclusion that “…the other was also the Lighthouse. For nothing was simply one thing.” Through James acknowledging both the objective and subjective experience, he realises both masculinity and femininity are of value and together they form a lens in which to see the truth. In Lily's painting, a tree is in the centre, extending the tree symbolism associated with Mrs. Ramsay. However, in order to achieve “her vision”, she drew “a line…in the centre” representing Mr. Ramsay who is tall and “lean as aknife.” This finishing touch emphasises Lily’s discovery of the importance of both the male and female in her personality and in society in order to achieve stability.
In conclusion, Virginia Woolf’s 1927 novel, To the Lighthouse is heavily concerned with the uniqueness of the individual’s human nature. Using the revolutionary modernist style of writing, the stream of consciousness; Woolf emphasises the complexity of perception. Despite their differences, all of the characters are tied together based on their common desire, to find meaning in their lives through finding and making sense of their place in the world. However, each character due to their varying attitudes and beliefs, each strive towards fulfillment introspectively, identifying with either male objectivity or female subjectivity. The tension between the approaches makes their journey fluid, and far from being a linear experience. It is only through fusing of gendered views so that masculinity and femininity co-exist in a state of equilibrium that the characters find peace with themselves and others.
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